Single Mom's Club
by Charlie060297
Summary: In New York City, small children are considered especially maddening. The dedicated mothers and working women no less, Olivia Benson and Amanda Rollins, who dedicate their lives to these children are part of an elite squad known as the Single Mom's Club. These are their stories. Rolivia friendship, will be multi-chapter.
1. No Shoes, No Service

A/N: It was mentioned that Olivia and Amanda get closer due to the common factor that they are both single mothers. This is a look into their lives and their relationship, one single mother to another.

"Jesse not wearing shoes."

"Noah, honey – "

"I don't wear shoes, don't like the shoes – not fair, not fair…"

"Noah, please…"

"No _no_..."

"NOAH!"

The three year old gave his mother a quizzical look. "Whhaaatttt Mommy?" He crooned innocently. It was very rare that she ever raised her voice at him like that and, when she saw the confused, hurt look on his face, she instantly regretted it.

"Jesse is wearing shoes. Her mom just hasn't put them on her yet," Olivia explained, with far more patience than she thought she had left, "Isn't that right, Amanda?" She asked, looking over her shoulder for backup.

But the detective was paying her superior no mind. On the other side of Olivia's living room, Amanda was wrestling with a very agitated and fussy Jesse, who was resisting her shoes at every turn. Obviously irritated at the sudden restriction of her foot after her mother had finally secured one shoes, Jesse shook it off and gurgled, smiling sweetly up at her mother, which in baby speak could've easily been the middle finger.

"Fine, don't put the shoes on!" Amanda said, slamming a pair of Buster Bear shoes onto the dining room table. "Are you going to fight me on the bonnet too, or am I going to continue to suffer at the hands of my three-month-old daughter?"

"Jesse first," The curly-haired boy said indignantly.

 _Why the hell does it matter who goes first?_

Olivia sighed, lower her head in defeat as she hung onto what felt like her shred of sanity. It was quite clear that she was on her own here. She pushed the brown dress showed towards Noah once more. "Noah, please put the shoes on. Uncle Sonny is going to be very upset if we are late," Olivia said, much more firmly than before.

The little boy stuck a finger in his cheeks, as if pondering the consequences of obliging his mother's request and putting the shoes on. With a smile that could melt Olivia's heart after even the toughest case, he stuck his feet out obediently. She kissed the top of his head and slipped the brown loafers on him.

"That's my good boy," Olivia said, tousling his hair gently, "Ready?"

"Uncle Sonny!"

She scooped him up easily and sat him on her hip. She struggled to stifle a laugh as Jesse pulled her bonnet off each time Amanda put it back on. "I don't think anyone will think to call Child Protective Services if she goes without the bonnet, Amanda," Olivia whispered, squeezing the detective's arm gently. "Besides, if we're not there in the next – "She checked her watch briefly, "Fifteen minutes, Carisi might have a conniption."

Amanda stuffed the bonnet into an already clumsily packed diaper bag. "Finally gave your mom a break huh, Noah?" She asked the toddler as she grabbed Jesse's car seat off the table and followed Olivia out of the door.

"Yeah," Olivia said, chuckling, "And it only took an hour this time."


	2. Five For Fighting

A/N: In case it wasn't clear, the previous chapter was them getting the kids ready for Carisi's graduation from law school.

 _Five For Fighting_

"Liv, it can't be that bad."

Her boss cut her a swift glare, indicating that she was not in the mood. Considering the circumstances and the events of today, it made sense that the lieutenant didn't want to hear anything from her. Not only had Amanda overwhelmed a ninety-year-old witness, the last remaining witness in a fifty-year-old cold case that the Bronx had thrown them, but the intense line of questioning had sent the elderly woman into a full-fledged anxiety attack, resulting in them being asked to leave the premises. The car ride back to the 1-6 had been tense enough, what with the lieutenant chastising her competency as an officer. And no sooner than Olivia had pulled the squad car into its parking spot at the precinct did her phone ring, followed by a rather strict, firm voice demanding that "a parent of Noah Benson be present at the school within the hour".

So here they were, an NYPD detective and lieutenant, sitting in the principal's office like a couple of school girls in trouble for passing notes in class.

"I know you don't want to hear this from me, but he's a sweet kid," She said hesitantly, knowing fully well that she was still on thin ice from botching an interview, "Whatever it is, he'll be f –"Before Amanda could finish, however, the door marked 'Principal Parker' open slightly and a dark-haired, bearded man poked his head out.

"Ms. Benson," The middle-aged man said flatly, acknowledging Olivia, who stood from the chair so fast in nearly toppled over. Amanda had to swallow the urge to correct him with _Lieutenant_ , figuring that the older woman's title held no weight in this office, "And this is…?" He asked, eyes falling on Amanda.

"Detective Amanda Rollins," She piped up, vaguely affronted at the man's rude tone, "We work together."

"Yes, well, I'm afraid you'll have to wait out here. These matters are best handled with as few, _relevant_ people in the room as possible."

Her eyes widened, but to her surprise before she could revert to her southern ways and give this self-righteous prick a piece of her mind, Olivia had already started to talk.

"Mr. Parker, if you had bothered to look at my son's paperwork, you would see that Detective Rollins is Noah's secondary emergency contact," The brunette quipped, a smug look on her face, "That seems relevant enough to me."

He pursed his lips in a thin line, clearly embarrassed by his rash assumption. "Yes, well, my apologies, uh – erm, this way ladies," Mr. Parker said, gesturing for them to step into the office.

If looks could kill, Noah would've been dead. Admittedly, she feared for the little boy as the normally calm, cool and, most importantly, understand mother was shooting daggers at her son as she listened to the principal recount the version of events, presumably as a teacher had told them to him. However, the rosy faced boy refused to meet neither Amanda or Olivia's eyes, suddenly having found his Spiderman shoes rather interesting.

"Now, I realize that this is the first incident but here at John Adams we believe in nipping these things at the source. Is he as violent at home as he is at school?"

"Excuse me?" Olivia asked, irritation evident in her voice as she diverted her attention from Noah to the principal, "You say that like he's been in trouble for fighting before and I assure you that nothing of this nature has _ever_ happened at home. What are you inferring?"

Uh oh. Rollins knew where this was going; she had a very good instinct for 'too far' and they had arrived.

"Mr. Parker," Amanda jumped in, ignoring the sharp glare from her boss for speaking out of turn, "Noah's a great kid and he's always very gentle with my daughter – she's three – this has to be a misunderstanding." Her heart warmed a little when she Noah smile as she came to his defense. _You're not out of the woods just yet kid,_ she said inwardly.

The man cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair, "First of all, Ms. Rollins – "

"Detective," She corrected snappily. She could feel Olivia's eyes boring holes into her, but she ignored it.

" _Detective_ Rollins, you are here as a courtesy and you would do well remember it. Secondly, if Noah is such a sweet kid, then tell me why _he_ is sitting in my office with another child's blood on him."

At this, Olivia winced noticeably – she had really been called here to be told that her son was a bully.

"It's already been explained to him that he'll have no recess for the remained of this week and next week," The principal continued, shuffling through the papers on his desk, "Whether or not you choose to punish him at home is entirely up to you, but I am dismissing him for the rest of the day. Good day to the three of you."

That was harsh, however, Amanda figured it was reasonable. But, damn, what was the kid supposed to do for half an hour for the next week and a half while everybody else got to run their crazy out on the playground?

Olivia gathered Noah's things in one hand and took his hand in the other, giving Amanda a nod toward the door.

"And, officers," The principal said, careful to not mistitle as they got ready to leave, "I think I should advise you that these kinds of things typically happen when there isn't a strong father figure in the home – "

She wasn't entirely sure why Olivia wasn't saying anything and just letting this man say whatever he pleased, but dammit, Amanda would have to pay the price for this later.

"Sir, I'll have you know that Ms. Benson is a decorated lieutenant of the New York Police Department," Amanda huffed, stepping back into the small, cramped space, "And Noah Benson has a good life, he's got an incredible mother and a precinct full of officers that adore him. He _is_ a good kid, and I'm sorry that you can't see it."

Mr. Parker stood there, eyes shifting between the two women, Olivia looking at Amanda in total dismay and Noah with a slight smile on his face.

"Good day to you too, Mr. Parker," Amanda said in mock sweetness, knowing that she was in the clear as her lieutenant gave her a wobbly smile while they made their way down the hall and inconspicuously held her hand out for a low five, as if to say 'thank you'.

 **Keep going? love it, hate it? Let me know!**


	3. Gone Baby Gone

_Takes place right after Gone, Baby, Gone._

 _A/N: As usual, I appreciate every review, follow, fave and everyone that takes the time to read! A special thanks to BenoightLangson for reviewing and sheepish123, candi711 and Minnicked, whose Rolivia stories continue to give me life._

She stirred gently in her sleep, realizing that the living room was much, much quieter than before. Almost too quiet. Her eyes tore open and darted about the apartment – it was too dark. Much too dark. Fumbling for the lamp switch beside the sofa, the still groggy lieutenant pulled it quickly, allowing an orange light to flood the apartment, eliminating the shadows and dark corners that were plaguing the living room. She breathed an easy sigh of relief when her dark brown eyes registered the board game still open on the coffee table. The squad and Barba had come over and Olivia must've fallen asleep right before everyone headed out.

 _Way to go, Benson,_ she thought, cursing herself for not being able to make it through what Fin had dubbed their "very first family night". Her eyes fell on a scrap piece of paper on the table and squinting at the barely legible, extremely clumsy scrawl, Olivia recognized it to be her ever empathic detective's handwriting.

 _Dishes done. Didn't want to disturb you. If you need anything, you know how to find me. -Carisi_

Perhaps he was empathic, after all. Olivia made a mental note to leave a little earlier in the morning so she could make a pitstop at Ferrara's and grab a bag of cannoli for Carisi, just as a thank you for making her night a little bit easier. She pushed herself up from the sofa, feeling the soreness in her lower back, and Olivia's breath hitched in her throat when she saw the sight in front of her.

In the arm chair in her living room was a carelessly sprawled out Jesse, wrapped up in a New York Giants blanket (Fin's doing), snoring softly and appearing totally unbothered. She took a deep breath for nearly jumping out of her skin at the mere sight of a sleeping three-year-old. Cautiously trying to make as little noise as possible, Olivia sauntered over to the chair and pulled the blanket up to the little girl's chin, smiling at the innocence on the toddler's face.

Her mind instantly went to all the times today she thought she would never see the innocence of her own son's face again, battling anxiety attack after anxiety attack, suppressing the urge to pistol whip everyone that told her to calm down. And, even after all of that, she couldn't have asked for a more supportive squad, team and family. Her and Noah's family.

But, even still, that didn't explain why Amanda's three-year-old daughter was asleep in her living room with absolutely no trace of Amanda. A part of her that Olivia was trying desperately to ignore was telling her that today had been too much for the younger woman and she needed a release, so she wandered off, maybe thinking she would be back to get Jesse after whatever gambling and drug debacle before her boss realized she had skipped out…

 _Stop it, Olivia._

She crept through her apartment, slowly approaching Noah's bedroom. She would just check on him quickly, before scanning the rest of the apartment in search of Amanda. Nearing his open door, Olivia convinced herself that she was either sleep-deprived or had too much wine tonight because she heard voices in Noah's room. A woman's voice. Instinctively, Olivia's hand went to the holster on her hip but as the inside of his room came into view, she suppressed the urge to breathe a heavy sigh of relief and, lowering her hand to her side, she focused on being as quiet as possible.

She didn't want to ruin this.

Amanda knelt at her son's bedside, running her hand through his light-brown curly hair, "No, bud, Grandma Sheila's not a bad person," She said softly, reassuringly squeezing his hand. Olivia noticed that he seemed tense at first, eyeing the contact suspiciously but eased a little when Amanda spoke again. "She did a very bad thing and she has to explain exactly why she did it, do you understand?"

"But Mommy and Grandma Sheila were fighting, Aunt Amanda. Whyyy?" He asked again as he had asked his mother earlier, obviously unsatisfied by the answer, "She said that mommy is always at work and that New York is a bad place – is Mommy bad? Am I bad?" Noah asked, lowering his gaze to his hands balled up in his Spiderman sheets.

Every inch of Olivia's being was telling her to go in there and comfort her son after what was most likely a nightmare, but she also knew Amanda had a knack for interviewing children. Dare she say, the blonde detective, out of the whole squad, was the best at it. She folded her arms, surprised that neither of them had noticed her presence and pursed her lips, waiting for the answer that Amanda was struggling to formulate.

"Hey, hey," Amanda said, taking the young boy's chin between her fingers and lightly tilting it up to meet her eyes. She took a deep breath and swallowed thoughtfully, never taking her eyes off of Noah's face, "I will tell you the only thing you ever need to know about your mom, okay? She's a good person who does good things every day, Noah. Grownups make bad choices sometimes and that's where we come in – "

"Cops," Noah said thoughtfully, "You put bad people away."

She playfully nudged his ribs and kissed the top of his head, "That's exactly right. Your mom helps people every day, keeps them safe," Amanda said coolly, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, "Makes sure that New York is a _good_ place for people to live…"

"Even me?"

 _Little do you know sweetheart,_ Olivia thought to herself.

Amanda nodded, "Especially you," She added strongly, pointing her index finger at his chest, "And you wanna know something else?" She added intriguingly.

"What?" Noah asked curiously, his eyebrows raising in sudden interest.

"And at the end of every day she gets to come home to the one thing that she loves more than anything else in this whole entire world," Amanda said dramatically stretching her arms out wide, causing Noah to giggle, "And that's _you_." She brought her arms back down and closed them around Noah, hugging him to her for a minute. "How about this? You go to sleep now and maybe when you wake up there'll be chocolate chip pancakes…"

"Deal," was the five-year-old's immediate response before settling underneath his covers once more.

When Amanda turned around to leave the room, she looked like a deer caught in headlights when she saw Olivia standing there, arms folded, leaning against the wall. The younger woman gently closed the door and turned to her superior with an apologetic, sheepish look on her face. Almost like a child that had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing…

"Liv, I am _so_ sorry – me and Jesse fell asleep – "

"Rollins…"

"So inappropriate, then Noah had a nightmare – we'll get out of your hair, it's fine – I think there's one more bus coming tonight – "

"Amanda, stop. Please," Olivia said firmly, grasping the other woman's shoulders tightly as she pulled her into the guest bedroom, "You're insane if you think I'm kicking my friend and her three-year-old daughter," She pointed in the direction of her living room, where Jesse was still sound asleep, "Out in the worst winter in twenty years in the middle of the night. You two are more than welcome to the guest bedroom."

The older woman sat down on the bed and patted the spot beside her. Amanda obliged, leaving just a little bit of space between her and the lieutenant. The silence was uncomfortable, so the Georgia detective cleared her throat pointedly. "Liv, I didn't mean to overstep with Noah. He was crying," She explained somberly, staring straight ahead into the empty closet, "I was just trying to calm him down…"

"I'm not mad at you. Not even a little bit, please stop apologizing," She retorted quickly, gently squeezing Amanda's shoulder. Olivia fell silent for a few, very long moments and then bit down hard on her lip, feeling the delayed reaction of that day showing up. She covered her mouth to silence all of the emotions that she had been trying to keep in check. However, a dry, hoarse sob escaped her lips, "I thought I'd never see him again, Amanda – what if Sheila – "

"You don't get to do that," Amanda said, pulling the older woman's hand from her mouth. Gently, she rubbed circles on the back of Olivia's shaking hand with her thumb, tracing figure eight patterns and looped her free arm around the lieutenant's shoulders. Very gingerly, Amanda could feel Olivia rest her head on her shoulder, "You don't get to not give yourself enough credit anymore. Not after I just told your son that you are the greatest thing since sliced bread."

Olivia imagined that she must've looked crazy trying to chuckle through a sob, but she couldn't help it.

"And if someone can't see that, then they don't like bread. And when I say bread it's a metaphor, because you're not remotely bread-like except insofar that bread is great. Fundamentally great, like water or air or you. Liv, please," Amanda said, chuckling along with her, passively urging Olivia to look at her, "You _are_ doing enough. You need to believe that because Noah couldn't have a better person in his corner. No matter what that little wench says, alright?"

After Olivia had cried all the tears she hadn't been allowed to that day, she separated herself from the woman at her side and gave her a small smile before pushing herself up from the bed. That was one thing she appreciated about her relationship with Amanda. She understood feeling alone, inadequate and raising a child on her own, but Olivia never once felt like Amanda pitied her. Sniffling a little, she headed towards the door.

"There's blankets in the cabinets over there, I'll go get Jesse. I imagine that armchair can't be too comfortable and she's all snuggled up in a Giants blanket…" Olivia said, knowing that Amanda was a Patriots fan.

"Oh no, my baby girl. I'll have to burn those clothes when we get home."

Before the lieutenant left the room, she turned to Amanda once more, "Oh and uh Rollins? Get some rest, I'm looking forward to those chocolate chip pancakes," Olivia said with a smirk before shutting the door behind her.


End file.
